Under the wave of AI technology, HBM (high bandwidth memory), the core component of high performance computing, has become the darling of the market, leading to an unprecedented supply tension. Behind this strong performance, TSMC's CoWoS advanced packaging technology and HBM technology innovation contributed. In particular, Nvidia's most advanced H200 chip has adopted HBM3E memory specifications for the first time, further boosting the development of AI accelerators.

In the face of the booming AI industry, memory industry giants such as Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron have turned their eyes to HBM as a new engine for business growth. HBM's popularity not only injected new vitality into the memory chip industry, but also triggered a series of chain reactions in the market: on the one hand, it has become a key factor to ease the overall downward trend of the memory chip industry; On the other hand, it may also exacerbate the supply and demand imbalance of universal DRAM (dynamic random access memory), pushing up prices; At the same time, it also intensifies the competitive situation in the field of technology.

In terms of product categories, the DRAM market includes various types such as DDR, LPDDR, GDDR and HBM. Among them, HBM shines in the field of AI with its unique advantages, while DDR, LPDDR and GDDR dominate the fields of traditional consumer electronics, mobile devices and image processing, respectively.

Looking back at the development of HBM, from the advent of HBM1 in 2014, to the popularity of HBM2 in 2018, to the introduction of HBM3 and HBM3E in recent years, each iteration has brought significant performance improvements. HBM3E, an enhanced version released by SK Hynix, has become a new favorite in the market with its transmission speed of up to 8Gbps and 24GB capacity. SK Hynix plans to start mass production of HBM3E from 2024 to meet the growing market demand.

In the face of short supply in the HBM market, SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron have increased production capacity investment. SK Hynix is accelerating the expansion of 5th generation 1b DRAM to meet the dual demand for HBM and DDR5 DRAM. Samsung plans to nearly triple its HBM capacity this year from last year, while Micron is also building an advanced HBM test line in the United States and is considering setting up a production base in Malaysia.

In this production expansion competition, SK Hynix has successfully won the favor of heavyweight customers such as Nvidia with the excellent performance of its HBM3 products. Samsung is focusing on the cloud customer market, while Micron has chosen to skip HBM3 directly and focus on the development and production of HBM3E.

Looking ahead, with the continued investment and capacity expansion of SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron in the HBM field, it is expected that the HBM supply and demand gap will gradually narrow this year and next. However, according to the analysis of professional institutions, although the supply and demand relationship is expected to improve, the HBM market will remain in short supply. At the same time, with the continuous progress of technology and the continuous expansion of AI applications, the prospect of HBM market is still broad.

* Disclaimer: This article is from the Internet, if there is any dispute, please contact customer service.